Making Colonial Clothing by Cynthia Howerter

Because of my interest in making colonial clothing, I recently stopped by Margaret Hunter's Millinery Shop in Colonial Williamsburg.

18th century millinery shops provided virtually all of the fashion needs for men, women, and children. The word milliner is derived from the Latin mille which means "thousand." The name of the business makes sense when one considers that some milliners sold as many as a thousand different items.

I always thought that colonial women made their family's clothing, but this was not the case for the middling (middle) and gentry (upper) classes. Due to the large amount of time required to hand-sew garments, people in these socio-economic groups purchased their family members' clothing in millinery shops.

As an example of the time needed to make 18th century clothing, the petticoat (what we call a skirt) and long gown (jacket) in the photo below took about ten hours of labor from the cutting of the fabric to sewing the final seam.

Samples of feminine clothing are displayed in Margaret Hunter's shop. Shifts for young girls hang on either side of a woman's short gown and matching petticoat.

Men in need of a hat should be pleased with the assortment at the shop.

Because both men and women had their clothes made at the milliner's, these shops employed mantua-makers to make women's clothing and tailors to produce men's clothing.


In the photo below, a mantua-maker takes advantage of the natural light coming through the shop's window to illuminate the petticoat she's sewing by hand.

The outfit of this middling class gentleman, consisting of a white shirt, blue waistcoat, brown coat, and breeches, was custom-made for him by a tailor employed at a millinery shop. He would have also purchased his tri-corn hat, blue stockings, and buckled leather shoes at the milliner's.

This middling class woman's shift, gown, petticoat, cap, and apron would have been made by a mantua-maker at the millinery shop.

Millinery shops also made clothing and special items for babies. Below is a bumper hat for a toddler. Placed on the head, the padded headgear protected the wee one from bruising its head during falls.

There's much more I want to learn about colonial millinery shops and 18th century clothing, so I'll have to make another visit to Margaret Hunter's shop. I'll be sure to share what I learn with you.


Photographs ©2017 Cynthia Howerter

Award-winning author Cynthia Howerter grew up playing in Fort Rice, a Revolutionary War fort owned by family members, and lived on land in Pennsylvania once called home by 18th century Oneida Chief Shikellamy. Hunting arrowheads and riding horses at break-neck speed across farm fields while pretending to flee from British-allied Indians provided exciting childhood experiences for Cynthia and set the stage for a life-long love of all things historical. A descendant of a Revolutionary War officer and a member of the Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR), history flows through Cynthia's veins.



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